Free Games on Epic Games Store Enjoy Huge Spike in Player Share among Core PC Gamers

On PC, Steam had a relatively unopposed monopoly on the digital game store market for over a decade. The tail end of 2018, however, saw Valve’s store facing some serious competition, especially from Epic Games, the publisher behind Fortnite. In a bid to get the edge over long-term market leader Steam, Epic leveraged its massive Fortnite audience to attract consumers to its new Epic Games Store, while also offering exclusivity deals and a better revenue split for developers wishing to add their games to the store. Another one of Epic’s key strategies to attract core PC gamers is by offering a new free game every two weeks.

Timed third-party exclusives are a new phenomenon within the PC store ecosystem. While platform-exclusive titles are common on console, many core PC gamers are not used to third-party (timed) exclusivity deals within the PC ecosystem, with some even boycotting the Epic Games Store. Others have review bombed (submitted poor reviews to) previous releases from publishers who announced Epic Games Store exclusives. Though these strategies have had a mixed reception from players, our data indicates that both players and developers have benefitted from Epic’s free game initiative. Using our PC Game Tracker, we currently track more than 1,000 games in 42 markets, including the games that went free on the Epic Games Store.

The first free game was Subnautica, which was free on the store between December 14 and 27. One of the more recent examples was Slime Rancher, which was free between March 7 and 21. In this article, we will use our PC Game Tracker to discuss the success of these titles following them going free for two weeks on the Epic Games Store.

Subnautica’s Player Share Rises Above the Surface After Going Free on Epic

After Subnautica went free on the Epic Games Store, the global share of core PC gamers who played it increased dramatically.

In November 2018, the title was played by 0.4% of core PC gamers across the world. In December 2018, when the game was free on the Epic Games Store for two weeks, 2.9% of core PC gamers played it—that’s month-on-month growth of +625%.

Subnautica’s player share spiked even more in some markets. The Czech Republic had the biggest spike (from 0.7% in November to 7.2% in December), followed by Slovakia (from 0.6% to 6.1%) and Hungary (0.4% to 5.2%).

Interestingly, more than two months after the game was free on the Epic store, Subnautica’s player share was still higher than before it was free—globally and in all the markets mentioned above.

In March 2018, the game’s player share was 0.8% globally, 1.7% in the Czech Republic, 1.4% in Slovakia, and 1.2% in Hungary—all higher than before the game was free.

Slime Rancher Also Farms More Player Share and Does Well in Central European Markets

Slime Launcher’s global player share also increased after going free on the Epic Games Store, increasing from 0.2% in February to 2.1% in March.

The game also had a considerable spike in the Czech Republic (0.3% to 8.0%), Poland (from 0.2% to 5.4%), Slovakia (from 0.2% to 5.3%).

These Central European markets, in particular, are more likely to play a title that has released for free on the Epic Games Store, so any publisher that wishes to increase its presence and exposure in these markets would benefit from a similar deal with Epic.

It is currently uncertain whether Slime Rancher’s player share will remain above its previous share (before going free on Epic), but we will be keeping a close eye on the situation—as we always do.

Newzoo’s PC Game Tracker

Curious about how your game’s new pricing strategy or update is affecting its player share? Or are you concerned that your competitor’s new strategy is stealing away your players? Look no further than our PC Game Tracker, which lets you benchmark your player retention and churn, track the fastest-rising games and genres, prioritize your game’s rollout strategy in new markets, and much more.

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